The Nissan Versa is like a rolling optical illusion. Outside it looks like what it is -- a sub-compact car -- but from the inside it feels roomier than most compacts. In fact, the Versa has so much interior space that the EPA classifies it as a mid-size. Every time I got out of the Nissan Versa, I'd glance back at it and wonder how a car so small could pack in so much interior room.
But space isn't the Nissan Versa's only big-car attribute. Crash performance is excellent; it scored top marks in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's front, side and rear impacts. And the list of optional amenities includes goodies such as Bluetooth phone compatibility and a keyless ignition system, features I'm used to seeing at the top of most automakers' model lineups, not at the bottom. The Nissan Versa's 1.8 liter engine develops more power than the 1.5 liter engines in its chief competitors, the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit, and while fuel economy trails those cars, it doesn't do so by much. The Nissan Versa is also the only car in its class to offer a continuously-variable automatic transmission (CVT), which offers more power and better fuel economy than a regular manual or automatic.
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